Canon 50D Movie Mode Possibilities

Responses

It would seem near possible , That all it needs for the 50d to take movies, is just a firmware update away from canon, Or maybe from hacks, And I certainly think so, And then people start whinning to canon to update the firmware to take movies, and then the whinning goes on and on through out the world in cyber space after seeing what the d90 can do. BUt Canon will not release a firmware for movie capability, Even though , the Cries of the 50d owners are heard by canon, Instead canon will release the 60d, a new model next year, cause Canon doesnt want us to save money by way of firmware updates, Which BTW is what firmware update capability is all about , Canon would want us to spend more by buying new models every year, or as much as possible. Just take the print button for example, Canon never updated the firmware of the previous canon models that has it , so that the print bottun could be assigned into differet function, And I really think canon could have done that with no problem. But they didnt. Only now , in the 50d where print bottun assignability is possible, Thereby ,creating one more reason why the 50d is better than 40d and others.

FOr the reason I said above, To those wishfully thinking that the 50d might get a firmware update with movie capability from canon, Forget it, Canon will not do it , You'll have to buy the next new model if you reallly like to use your canon lenses to take movies. And I would advice never to try hacking your 50d by firmware updates from online hackers( If there are any), It might just destroy your 50d. If canon have their way ( as if they didnt already), We would buy every new models they release until we're broke. Luckily there is Nikon and The Others( scary movie,BTW).

So at the moment , If you really want movie capability in a dslr, The d90 is the way to go, If it is available.

I have to give a benifit of a doubt to canon, thoug, Cause Even if the firmware is upgradable, there is really no guarranty that the mechanics of the 50d have movie taking in mind or it could withstand it , So we cant really blame canon if they dont release a movie firmware for it.

What's the point of having movie feature if DOF is usually too small? If you close the aperture there might not be
enough light to focus accurately. It makes sense only if you use super-short focal lenghts like these in point and
shoot cameras' lenses.

The D90 movie capability is pretty crappy anyway. It's not even as good as a 10 year old video camera. It can only record for 5 minutes maximum. It can't change focus or exposure during the shooting (you can use manual focus) and it only records mono sound though a built in microphone. Any of the current small digital videocameras will absolutely run rings round it. I have a small Canon digital video camera which I think cost under $250 and which is about the size of a 35mm lens. It records for an hour of more, has an 18x zoom, can focus and change exposure at will, has a bazillion tricks and special effects built into it and fits in a coat pocket. Why on earth would I want something that's bigger and clumsier with 1% of the capability. I suppose if aliens landed in my garden and I only had my SLR with me I could shoot a movie of them, but I think a series of still would probably be even better!

It's the old "dog walking on its hind legs" thing again. Yes, it's surprising it can do it, but the surprise it that it does it at all, not that it does it well. The chance that Canon will upgrade the 50D with equally crappy video is zero. Not close to zero, Zero. The chance that will will update the firmware with good video would be even lower than zero, if that's possible.

Bob, I don't think you're correct. The camcorders have autofocus because it's no trick at all with the DOF that
they have. AFAIK no digital movie camera with a sensor size close to the frame size of 35mm movie film has
autofocus. What the D90 has is low noise in low light, the ability to use selective DOF, and the ability to use a
wide range of specialty lenses.

If you need proper sound, you use an external audio recording system and then synchronize the data from it to the
video using the audio signal recorded by the D90. 5min, as far as I know, is the maximum duration of a single
clip. How many movies have over 5-minute clips? Are they interesting?

Why on earth would I want something that's bigger and clumsier with 1% of the capability

Well the small camcorders are virtually useless in low light due to their tiny sensors. Do they offer 1:1 macro?
Do they allow you to isolate your subject with shallow DOF? Do they have wide dynamic range? Do they have
high-quality superwide angles? No, of course - none of them do. What I find ironic about my digital HD camcorder
is that in bright light (sunlight) the camera is unable to record detail in the shadows and easily blows
highlights (reminds me of the dynamic range I get with my DSLR at ISO 12500 or thereabouts). In low light, it
shows a terribly noisy image. It doesn't allow me to manual focus precisely like my DSLR does. In fact I can't
figure out what it does well.

The D90 solves the dynamic range and noise problems. That's enough for me to test the camera and see how it fits
my applications (theatre, concert, weddings, which are all low light) for video.

I'll be happy to see a usable movie mode in something like a 60D. I noticed a significant amount of aliasing on the brief 720p sample of movie mode in the 500D (Rebel T1i) review at DPReview. When connected to a HDTV using HDMI cable, I think the "live view" video output from a 50D looks pretty good (although there is a white "magnify this area" box always superimposed on the video, which as far as I know cannot be turned off). I have done both videography and photography professionally, though at the moment I'm interested in DSLR video for personal projects only. For some purposes and for some people, movie mode in a DSLR format is a very valuable thing. I wouldn't presume to suggest it is useful for everyone.